People Ain't No Good
by StrifeDaethWingedAngel
Summary: Roxas lives alone with his dad in Twilight Town. The summer before his junior year he leaves to visit his aunt while his dad chases a job opportunity. There he meets Axel, a quirky red-head who obsessed with his eyes AxR, rated M to be safe
1. I'm OK, You're OK

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts I and II are property of Square Enix, not myself. So are their characters. Either way, I don't want to be sued so... Please don't.

**Warnings:** Eventual boy-on-boy shmexing, language, adult themes in general, and possible OOC moments whenever I get the urge (though hopefully not too many).

**Summary:** Roxas is sent to his aunt's house to spend the summer there, while his drunk of a dad goes off for a job opportunity. There he meets Axel, the son of his aunt's next door neighbors, Sora, a weird hyper boy that he can't really understand but looks a lot alike, and many other people that he could see himself with on a regular basis. He doesn't want to get too close, knowing he'll only be around for the summer, but can he follow his own rules? Read and find out!

**A/N:** Okay, so you're all probably going, "WHAT?! Another fic, but no third chapter to the other one?! STUPID HEAD! D: " Of course, that's if you've come across "Come Closer, Stay Away" or whatever. But yes, I'm writing something new and no I don't have a third chapter done yet. I'm... almost ashamed to say that the other story is mine, because the writing seems so poorly done. But either way, this is something that's been nagging at me for a while. By no means is it some fancy-shmancy original idea (well, not yet anyway), but I hope it turns out alright. Better than the last, anyway. Have fun reading the first chapter! Also, the title of the chapter comes from the MxPx song "I'm OK, You're OK".

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **People Ain't No Good**

- - - - - - - **Chapter 1**: I'm OK, You're OK

Rain poured down on any unsuspecting victims that happened to be walking through the streets. The downpour had started suddenly and seemed to come out of nowhere, as the skies had been a clear blue just moments before. Everyone rushed to get under the eaves of surrounding buildings that were built especially for moments like these. After all, when you reside in the most depressing part of the city, rain tends to come more often than not. The district had been nicknamed "The world that never was" because of how they were viewed by the rest of the city. The other inhabitants of Twilight Town avoided that district, pretending that it didn't exist. The people that lived there might as well have been born as cockroaches.

It was rare that anyone left, unless they left the city entirely or were just visiting relatives (though that was even more rare than people leaving). The rest of Twilight Town seemed to be able to tell if someone had lived there for an extended period of time, as though there was a certain odor pouring off of them. If asked, residents of the upper class districts (such as Destiny Islands Estates) would simply say that they all smelled damp and a bit moldy, probably because of how much rain they received each year. They also speculated that it had something to do with the lack of funds for cleaning their houses, but that opinion was less voiced than the first.

Between the many stores lay the doors to small two-floor houses. None of them could comfortably fit more than two people, but they were cheap and were often crammed with four or five individuals. Outside of one door a boy sat on the front steps, just far enough out so that the rain could hit him on the head. He seemed to be around four or five years old, with spiky blonde hair. His face was buried in his hands, keeping his bright blue eyes shielded from the rest of the world. The few people that were still walking by barely noticed him through the rain and the haze of their own problems.

A woman stepped out of the house from behind him, carrying another boy in her arms. The blonde boy turned around, panic showing on every inch of his face. The woman kept her face forward and paid no attention to him, clutching at the other boy with all of her strength. There seemed to be a cut somewhere on his head, somewhere around his eye, but the blonde couldn't catch it quick enough as the woman ran down the steps. On the side walk a cab waited for her. She carried no bags and only had a coat for the injured boy in her arms. Though the blonde boy called out to her, she seemed not to hear him as she quickly ducked into the car. She would never return to that house between the shops

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"Roxas! Pack your bags quickly, boy, you're going to miss the cab!"

Roxas stood up from packing his duffle bag. He still had the same, spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes, but he'd grown. Now sixteen years old, there was next to nothing that could make him cry. He'd given up on the notion that his mother would come back, bringing his twin brother with her. She never wrote, never called, never even bothered to give him any sort of clue that she'd made it somewhere else alive. He tried not to think about her too much, because doing that made his chest constrict and his eyes burn. Often times, if his father was drunk enough to care that he was around, he would mention his mother and how she hadn't wanted him. Roxas tried not to listen, walking away before his father could say anything too permanent. He wasn't even sure his old man knew what he was babbling about any more. Lately he'd given up caring, only thinking about the approaching summer vacation and all the wonderful opportunities it was bringing for both of them.

His father worked for a small toy industry. Lately the company had been on the rise and his father had, somehow, managed to be at the center of it all. Roxas wouldn't have been surprised if he was taking the credit for someone else's achievements in order to better himself. Now the company was expanding and they needed a new head for the Hollow Bastion division. His father was going away to Hollow Bastion for the next month to test the waters, see if he could handle all the responsibility. Roxas didn't doubt that he could do it, he just doubted whether he could follow one of the strict rules that came with being a corporate head: no excessive drinking. At the moment his father was one of the heads of sales for Twilight Town. The job didn't pay as much as it would have normally, since it was split between three people and he was in charge of lesser districts, which brought in less money. What little money he did bring in went to booze, and sometimes an electric bill. Heating bills were never paid, because his father didn't see the point. But being the head of an entire city's department would eliminate the need to pay for heating, electric, and even an apartment. All perks that came with the job.

Roxas just hoped that his father didn't screw it up.

Albert Prynne didn't care about anyone but himself. He selfishly blew money on alcohol and, occasionally, drugs. Roxas's mother had voiced this many times before, and he would just laugh at her and go about his normal business. Roxas and his twin brother Sora heard the arguments, listened to the crashing objects, and even watched his father hit his mother once. He'd also been unfortunate enough to feel the weight of his father's fist, but so long as Sora was untouched everything was okay. Roxas never let a single punch or slap get past him. Now his father had gotten over the beating stage and just verbally abused him. However, once in a while he would grip Roxas's shoulder just the right way to make him listen. He never actually tried to do anything; it was more of a scare tactic and it generally worked. He would have to give all of these things up, though, as he tried to move on to a better life. Sure, he could sneak some things past his bosses, but his more elaborate habits would have to be cut down.

Roxas finished packing, zippered the duffel bag, threw it over his shoulder and grabbed his jacket. He'd throw it on as soon as he was ready to leave. He quickly moved from his bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, hoping that the taxi cab would already be situated outside. He frowned when he couldn't see it through the haze of the rain. Its yellow color would stick out cheerily from the damp darkness of the water droplets. There was supposed to be a thunderstorm today, and not just over The World That Never Was. The rest of Twilight Town was supposed to get it, too. It wasn't often that all districts got a rainstorm at the same time. The town was so big that the clouds couldn't seem to stretch that far. He threw on his coat and headed for the door anyway, wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible.

"Where do you think you're going, boy? The cab isn't here yet."

Roxas rolled his eyes. The typical 'boy' thing wasn't cutting it today. It seemed every dad that was displeased with their son called them 'boy'. It was like a blast back fifty years.

"I'm just gonna go wait outside, dad. And I have a name, you know, you gave it to me." He shifted uncomfortably in the kitchen doorway, waiting for that hand on his shoulder to make him stay, but it never came.

"Just don't catch a cold. I don't need your aunt calling me while I'm with the boss and saying I let you get sick." He heard the footsteps fade away behind him and then he heard the cab beeping its horn for him. Today was his day to be free. He heard his dad yell "have a good time" from the living room before he walked out the door. It didn't make sense to him, as affection wasn't something he was used to from his father. He accepted it nonetheless, responding with a quick "you too" before running out to meet the cab.

He put his hand in his pocket, feeling around for the mp3 player that he knew was hiding in there. Once his hand closed around it he sighed in relief. It was the one thing his father had ever bought for him for Christmas and he cherished it in a nostalgic sort of way. Like if he loved the mp3 player, then his father's love would come back or his mother would. Of course, he knew that loving a gift wasn't going to convince his mother to come back home, but a boy could dream, couldn't he? He slid into the back of the cab and sighed at the difference in smell. He had to admit that everything did smell damp and moldy in his district, just like his father's boss had said the last time he was in the neighborhood. Roxas breathed in the scent of McDonald's and a strange sort of mint. The mix wasn't all that enticing, but the new experience was. He saw the cab driver's nose scrunch up a little bit, probably from the smell of alcohol that lingered all over his clothes. It seemed to be stuck in his house.

"Where to?" the driver asked in a clipped and practiced voice. There was no accent like Roxas had expected from all of the movies that he watched when his dad actually paid the cable bill. It was the type of voice he'd expect a secretary to have, or someone with an education like that. Wait, just because this guy was a cabbie didn't mean he couldn't have an education! Roxas shook his head, feeling bad for even thinking it.

"Um, 312 Terrace Drive, Destiny Island Estates," he said, noting the look of disbelief on the cab driver's face.

"What are you doing all the way up there?"

"Visiting my aunt for the summer, sir."

"Ha, well, have fun while it lasts, kid."

Roxas just nodded in thanks and looked out the window as the familiar sights flew by. Within minutes, he wasn't sure where they were anymore. This was much farther than he'd been able to go in a long time. His dad had once described to him a trip to an amusement park, telling him about all the great rides there were. Of course, at the same time he was ripping up a yellow permission slip that needed to be signed in order to go. He didn't have to pay for anything; he just didn't want Roxas wanting to leave like his mother had. No need to want to leave if you didn't know what was out there that was better, right? The only reason he was okay with the trip to his aunt's for the summer was because they'd be moving somewhere even bigger and better than Twilight Town (though that was hard for Roxas to believe). It was fifteen minutes before they even entered Destiny Island Estates, and all that was left was to get to Terrace Drive. It was one of the richest neighborhoods and, looking at all of the houses around him, he was afraid to see what that road looked like. All the houses he saw currently could have fit ten to twenty of his own shabby living quarters inside of them. They were all prim and proper, with perfectly cut hedges in front of them. He was a little intimidated.

He clutched his duffel bag in one hand and his mp3 player in the other. His aunt had told him to only pack one bag, because they would buy other things when he got there. He had protested, but she had insisted. Roxas was the only nephew she was allowed to splurge on, so she was going to spend lots and lots of money on him. He had a theory that she had actually been the one to pay for his mp3 player (it was one of the more expensive ones, a 30GB Zune) just like she had bought him his computer. She paid for their internet so he wouldn't have to walk to the library everyday to do homework. He felt bad, but she didn't mind, claiming that she really enjoyed it. Soon enough, she wouldn't have to pay for all that anymore. Instead, she'd be worrying about herself and what she could possibly buy Roxas that his father couldn't (assuming he stuck to the rules or that he would spend money on his son).

The cab came to a stop and Roxas paid him with the money that his father had forked over for the ride. It wasn't much and he would have had change if he hadn't wanted to tip him. What did he need with that money, anyway? It wasn't like his dad would find out he gave it all to the guy. Being a cab driver couldn't give him enough money to live off of. The guy tried to give him his change, but he just shook his head and stepped out, nearly choking as he looked at the house in front of him. It was three floors high, and he didn't even want to know how many rooms wide. He leaned to the side a little to check how far back it went, but couldn't get a good estimate. He walked forward, cautious and unsure if this was the right place. The front lawn had no bushes or trees for decorations. Instead it had lawn ornaments that fit the season, including a few gnomes and some wind chimes hanging from the porch roof. The siding was a soft blue color that reminded himself of his own eyes. He would ask his aunt later if that was where her inspiration came from. A lot of the things she did seemed to, so he wouldn't be surprised. She couldn't have kids of her own, so she spent all her energy on him.

He walked onto the porch and looked below the number at the small tag that said 'Prynne'. He sighed with relief and rang the doorbell, more confident than ever that this was definitely his aunt's house.

Meredith Prynne was the complete opposite of her brother, except for in looks. She adored Roxas while his father despised him. She cared only about other people while Albert couldn't give a damn about anyone but himself. She had it all, he had nothing, though that one would soon change. They were two completely different people, and Roxas could hardly believe they were actually related. He was happy to be here, away from everything that he'd had to endure for the last sixteen years. It was a break, like a breath of fresh air amongst all the pollution.

He rang the door bell and waited, expecting her to be gone and have to sit outside for hours. He looked at the sky and noticed it darkening. I'm probably bringing it with me, he mused, and then jumped as he heard the door creak open. Turning around, he smiled at the woman standing before him. It was hard not to smile around his aunt (who he dutifully nicknamed Merry).

"That stupid door, I've been meaning to oil it. I think the dry air has been making it creak like that." She wrapped her arms around him and he melted in her warm embrace. He couldn't believe it was actually going to be a whole two and a half months of this. "Come on in. Tell me all about the ride here."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

An hour later, the thunder was booming loudly outside. His aunt moaned and groaned the whole while, bustling around the kitchen trying to prepare lunch while worrying about the power going out. Roxas could hardly believe that one person could have so much energy. She seemed to move nonstop and he wanted to move right around with her. After a while he couldn't help but doing just that, asking her what was where and what he could do to help. Of course, he knew a thing or two about cooking as he did most of it in the house. It was never anything fancy, just basic things like mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, or soup. Most of the time they had TV dinners and ate them at opposite ends of the house. His dad would be in the living room either watching TV or some of the movies that they had left over from years ago. Roxas would be in his room, listening to music and typing away on the computer. He was never talking to anyone in particular, just random people here and there. He probably could've gone to meet some stranger and his dad wouldn't have cared.

His aunt hurried with the cooking, putting everything on a higher temperature than it should have been and almost burning the hamburgers while doing so. She'd wanted to have a barbeque, but the rain had ruined that. She teased Roxas that it was haunting him and didn't want to accept that he was leaving the dreariest place in the world. He nodded in full agreement, but unlike her, he was being absolutely serious.

"Well, after we eat lunch you can take a shower and change into some new clothes. I have a set on the bed in your room. No offense, hun, but you and your father do have that certain smell. I've got your favorite shampoo all ready to go." She winked at him and pushed him towards the upstairs. "It's the first door on your right, okay? And your room is the last one down the hall."

"Okay. Um, how do you work the shower?" His shower was simple, but he knew that every shower was different. The school showers were really complicated for some reason, and he hated them. He hated showering around other boys because they laughed at him. One boy laughed at him and Roxas had to point out that he was even smaller.

"Just turn the knob. It's not hard to figure out, trust me. If you have any trouble, though, come down and get me."

"But I thought we were going to eat first..."

"Oh, right, well... I can be a little air-headed at times. You go set the table then. You should know where the plates are by now, right?"

He nodded and ran for the cabinets. He had nothing against taking showers, but he didn't want to leave his aunt's presence just yet. She was so happy and all of that was rolling off of her and hitting him. He was afraid that if he left her for just a few minutes that he'd lose all of that feeling and he'd be miserable all over again. He was also afraid that he'd wake up from some dream and find himself back at home, the last day of school repeating over and over again for the rest of his life. He pulled the plates out and put them on the table before moving to the silverware drawer. He looked at the stove to see what they needed and realized that they didn't need any at all. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips hardly qualified as a fork and knife occasion. He quickly put the plates on the table before going to help his aunt get the food. Once everything was set and on the table they began to eat. It was the first meal Roxas had outside of his house, the first of many.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After cleaning up the table, Roxas was once again shooed upstairs to go take a shower. As he was walking up, he made it a point to sniff himself and see how bad he smelled. He shrugged as he came to the conclusion that he really didn't smell all that bad (though that could have been because he was used to it) and continued to his room at the end of the hall. When he opened the door he gasped, staring at the room in front of him. The first thing that caught his attention was the size. It was at least three times the size of his room back home, if not four or five, and the windows... God, he loved windows. He'd have to remember to invest in a lot of them whenever he decided to get his own house. The side of his room that faced the backside of the house was one large window bordered by a deep blue, heavy curtain. He pulled the curtains closed and smiled as the room went almost completely dark. The only other light came in through the other two windows. One was positioned behind the queen-sized bed. He crawled on top of it in order to pull that curtain closed as well, making sure to avoid messing up the clothes laid carefully on the bed. The last window in his room was on the side facing the street. It was equipped with the same blue curtain as the other two, and as soon as he covered the window with it, the room went pitch black.

He smiled and groped his way through room until he found the wall with the door to get out. He ran his hand along the wall until he felt the light switch and he flicked it on. Looking around at his surroundings in a new light, he noted the bookshelves that lined the walls to the left and right of his bed. The only problem was... they were empty. Not a single book stood on the mahogany shelves, and that made Roxas a little upset. What was the point of having a bookshelf if there wasn't anything on it? He'd ask his aunt about that later.

The bed was covered with a sky blue comforter and multiple matching throw pillows. Apparently she was all about matching his decor with his eye color. That wasn't a problem for him, since he happened to like the color just fine. When he took a closer look at a couple of the pillows he noted that his name was sewn into them. God, she didn't make these herself, did she? Does she have all the time in the world or something?

The walls were the same light blue and contrasted nicely with darkness of the curtains. When he pulled back the blanket on the bed, the sheets were also a dark blue. He turned and noticed the closet on the other side of the door, opposite from his bookshelves. He realized he hadn't even thought of why one side of the room looked shorter than the other. He walked over and opened it up, not really sure what he was supposed to expect. Just like he thought, it was devoid of any clothing and only held hangers. He supposed he'd be able to fill it up soon enough, with clothes that he actually wanted to wear, rather than clothes that his cousins from other, more distant aunts and uncles decided they didn't want anymore.

He decided that he'd done enough looking around and proceeded to open all of the curtains again. He snatched the clothes that his aunt had laid out for him on the bed and left the room after shutting the light off. He looked down at the clothes, wondering why she'd only grabbed one set at a store if she had bothered to grab any at all. Then he realized that they were a pair of women's pajamas and he had to stop in the middle of the hall to fully grasp what was going on. She wanted him to wear these? Seriously? For the rest of the night and when he went to bed? He walked back down stairs quickly and into the kitchen and frowned when he discovered his aunt wasn't in there. It was just his luck that she'd be somewhere else. He wandered around the ground floor looking and, upon not being able to find her, ventured into the basement. The light was on, which was a good sign to him, and he heard a washer machine going in the distance. It wasn't a luxury they had at his own house, but he knew the sound from the laundromat just down the street.

"Um, Aunt Merry, you down here?" he asked, a little nervous. The stairs were small and steep. He hated heights more than anything, and on these stairs he was afraid he was going to fall.

"Yeah, Roxas, just come down the stairs," came her quick reply and he heard himself groan.

"Do I have to...?" he mumbled softly to himself as he descended the rest of the way down.

"What seems to be the problem?" She noticed the bundle of clothes in his hands and her mouth molded into the shape of an O. "Well, they're just temporary. I've just thrown your other clothes into the wash... You smell like you've been drinking since last Tuesday, though I'm sure that's your father I'm smelling... He didn't go to the conference like that, did he?"

Her nose scrunched up into a look that Roxas recognized as mixture of worry and a sort of scolding. When he thought about it, he realized that his dad had thoroughly washed all of his belongings before packing them, including the bag that he put them into. Someone from work must have tipped him off, because he most certainly wouldn't have thought of that on his own.

"No, he washed everything before he left. I guess he assumed you'd wash them anyway and didn't want to waste the quarters. I don't blame him. But, um, how long will I have to wear these?"

"Well, if you take your time walking up those stairs and taking a shower - which I suggest you do, honey, to get rid of that stench from your hair - then it should be just an hour or so. I'm not trying to sound rude or say that it's your fault, it's just... I'd rather save you grief from the neighbors when they get a whiff of you."

"Why would they even get that close?" It was Roxas' turn to scrunch up his nose, but he did it in disgust. He wasn't good with other people and the thought of neighbors approaching him was, well, not a happy one.

His aunt laughed, a clear, melodic sound and he stared in confusion. "I'm sorry, Rox, it's just that look on your face. Ahah, you look just like your father sometimes."

Roxas rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself. He even chuckled a little bit and made the face again, this time with more enthusiasm. "How's this?"

"Good, good. Now, about those neighbors... We were invited over for dinner tonight. Normally the adults aren't very... neighborly so I accepted. Their son is just a couple years older than you, probably going to be a senior this year. I'm not sure how well you'll get along, but he'll be polite enough, I'm sure. He does a lot of work around my yard when I don't have the time."

"Oh, like strategically placing those garden gnomes?" He smiled again, but was inwardly dreading the thought of dinner with strangers. They would show off all their stuff and he hated it when people did that. He didn't have video game systems, or fancy stereo systems, or even a great TV. Yeah, he was jealous, and he wasn't afraid to admit it to his family. "But, um, couldn't we do this dinner thing another time, Aunt Merry? I'm just getting adjusted and —"

"Nonsense! This is the perfect time. Besides, what else are you going to do when I have to go to work? I took today and tomorrow off, but come Friday I'm gonna have to actually work, you know." She ruffled his hair as she walked by. "Don't worry, Roxas, they're decent people."

He nodded and followed her back upstairs, passing her as they went their separate ways: he to the second floor bathroom and she to the living room to read while she waited on the laundry. He swore softly under his breath as he remembered the other questions that he'd also wanted to ask her, but decided that those could wait until later. For now he was going take a shower and scrub away any smell that might key in anyone on the fact that he had just come from some low-to-no income district. He wasn't sure if Aunt Meredith had told anyone where he was from and he didn't want to embarrass her if she hadn't.

His shower took longer than he could have ever expected. He looked at the foggy clock when he came out and noticed that forty-five minutes had gone by from the time he went in to the time he came out again. Those forty-five minutes were worth it, though, even he had to admit it. His hair smelled cleaner than it had in years, and a comforting vanilla fragrance lingered there as well as the rest of his body. Apparently his aunt was all for stocking up on vanilla-scented toiletries on a regular basis. Then again, she had said she'd gotten his favorite shampoo all ready. She'd bought it for him once before and his father had let him empty the bottle, but never again was his son going to walk around smelling like some prissy fag (his father's term, not his). Aunt Merry hadn't been allowed to buy him bathroom products since and Roxas was forever doomed to smell like... Well, whatever non-scented shampoo smelled like.

He dried off quickly and pulled the pajama outfit on over his still-damp skin. It stuck to him uncomfortably, but he knew it would pass soon enough. His body would dry and the attraction of damp skin to cloth would cease to exist all together. Now he would just have to wait another hour before his clothes came out of the dryer, smelling nice and fresh, in order to change out of the girlish thing his aunt called clothes. He couldn't believe she couldn't find something more, well, manly. Sure, they were blue— better than pink— but couldn't she have just given him a pair of shorts? Wasn't she a tomboy once? All girls were tomboys at some point in time, so she had to have a pair of guy shorts. He walked down the stairs, dirty clothes in hand, and looked around to see if she was anywhere within range. When he realized that she wasn't he walked back up the stairs and began heading for his room.

Of course, there his aunt stood, right at the top of the staircase. She looked almost nothing like him, with dark brown hair and dark green eyes. She was a skinny, middle-aged woman who couldn't have kids of her own. Why she didn't bother to have a boyfriend was beyond him. She lived in a huge house with no one to fill it but herself. The more Roxas thought about it, the more he realized that he probably would have killed himself after just a few months with no one. He wasn't much of a people person, but he needed some sort of companionship. Being alone wasn't something he enjoyed and he realized that he would probably appreciate company the days his aunt had to work. Of course, it wasn't definite that he'd become friends with the next door neighbor, but he knew for a fact there were other kids in the neighborhood. Just down the street lived a boy named Hayner whom Roxas had met at a barbeque back when his mom was still around. It was funny how he could remember trivial things like that, but not how things had happened or even what his mother looked like.

"Um, what do you want me to do with these clothes?" He looked up awkwardly. He was going to be the best company he could be while he was around. Maybe he could petition to stay here with her or something.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Rox, just toss them down into the basement when you get the chance. I'm sure laundry for two can't be too much worse than laundry for one." She smiled and hugged him as she walked by. "Oh! You smell so much better. Vanilla definitely suits you more than alcohol, no matter what your father seems to think."

"Heh, yeah, I guess so. Oh! About the bookshelves in my room... Should we move them out or something, because there aren't any books—"

"I thought we'd go buy some! We could do it as part of our shopping trip tomorrow, okay?" Once he nodded she continued. "Now, let's go wait downstairs for the neighbors to call and for your clothes to dry. We can get rid of those dirty clothes while we're down there."

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Just next door from the happy reunion, the neighbors were busying themselves getting ready for their guests. Well, at least half of them were. The two boys belonging to said family wanted nothing to do with this dinner 'get together'. They would have much rather been out with friends at some party, or at least over at their houses doing something much more amusing than what they were currently doing. Because, as everyone knows, playing double solitaire is not the fun thing to do. But when you're banned from everything else because you refuse to help with dinner preparations, it's that or masturbation, and frankly, the latter was not a two person job.

The two mirrored each other almost perfectly in looks. Their hair was a fiery red color and eyes a bright green. The only difference between them was the way they styled their hair. The older of the two kept his in a shorter fashion, with the longer strands of his hair pulled back into a short ponytail. The younger of two kept his down, and much longer than his sibling's. It seemed almost inhuman the way it spiked in the back. Of course, it wasn't a big deal to them anymore, or their parents. The two well-to-do parents had long since given up on controlling their children's fashion sense. The two stayed out of the public eye, hanging out with other kids with their weird quirks and interests. So long as they didn't make a fool out of the family, then they were allowed to do as they pleased.

"Ugh, Axel, you can't do that! You already put the card down. Stop cheating." The redhead in question simply frowned and continued with the game as he had been going.

"Oh, shove it, Reno. It's not like you actually care anymore. We've been playing this for hours now. Dinner's almost ready and once it's all done and over with we can go back to doing whatever we want." Of course, this was highly unlikely. Their parents would probably ban them from any activities for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, well, after this I'm never gonna play solitaire ever again. I swear."

"Whatever. God knows we'll have to do it again some day. And besides, it's not like you have to visit every time you have a vacation."

As if to release them from their misery, the doorbell rang. Both of them jumped out of their seats and eagerly ran for the door. Just get these stupid people in, feed them food, and then shove them back out. All they wanted to do was play some video games, have fun, go out with all of Axel's friends (Reno's were all with their families for the holidays, as he was visiting from college), anything but sit in the hell hole that was their home.

"I got it!" Axel was there first, with Reno pushing right behind him. "No, seriously, I got it. Get offa me."

"What an impression you're making, and they aren't even through the door yet!" Reno laughed and pushed his brother roughly, making him collide with the door.

"Hey, Merry already knows me, you dimwit."

"Would one of you just open the door!" Their mother shouted from the kitchen and the both of them smiled at each other. It was like a daily job, trying to drive their parents up the wall, and damn... They were good at it. Axel grasped the door knob in his hand and sighed. Finally, they'd get to eat and then they'd be free. He turned it and pulled the door open, keeping his best smile on his face. Once it was fully opened he saw something he didn't expect.

_Woah... Can people really have eyes that blue?_


	2. The Impression That I Get

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts aside from the games that I purchased.

**Warnings**: Eventual boyxboy, probably some swearing, and long lengths between chapters (hopefully not so much on that last one)

**A/N**: So I feel really bad for putting this down for so long, but senior year consumed my life more than I expected it to. I read over the first chapter, though, and fell in love with the story all over again. Sure, there are some serious mistakes in the beginning and parts are kinda cliché, but this was one of the first things I wrote that I was actually proud of. So then I got inspiration to try and start again. However, seeing as every other time I attempted to describe the dinner _failed_ I completely skipped over it and only mentioned it in passing. I'm going to assume that the development between Roxas and Axel was not much. I just _could not write that scene_. So I apologize and here goes chapter two.

This is not beta'd so any mistakes are mine (and if you would like to beta the story, let me know. It could definitely use the work).

**Thanks to: Sennie** for being my first reviewer and talking to me even now, when I've been so absent! And thanks to my other reviewers, **TooMuchYaoi4You**, **Ally Montgomery**, **13loves8loves9loves6**, **kyte-sama**, **Sukigoken**, and **Faye Silo**! This chapter would've _never_ happened without you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **People Ain't No Good**

- - - - **Chapter 2: **The Impression That I Get

Roxas rolled over in his bed, burying his face in the soft pillow as the alarm clock on the nightstand went off with a shrill "_beep beeeep"_. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before as they'd stayed at the neighbors until eleven. He didn't do much talking himself, feeling rather out of place with the other two boys who seemed so much older than he was (really, it was their height more than anything). The food had been wonderful, and so had the neighbors. Everyone had been surprisingly nice to him, though a little too nosy about his life for his own comfort. He didn't like talking about his father to anyone because he was ashamed and he didn't want to tell them where he was from because he was afraid they would look down on his aunt. So he spent most of it being quiet and listening to them talk about how if he needed anything, their sons would be around for the most part. He could see both of them roll their eyes at this comment and decided that they wouldn't be as reliable as their parents promised.

He and his aunt had stayed up until two talking, even after deciding they were going to have to get up at eight and be out of the house by eight thirty if they wanted to miss traffic on the road and at the mall. So now he hit the alarm clock, which he had set to seven thirty, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was not a morning person by any means. He liked to sleep in during the summer and stay up late doing whatever. It didn't help that it had taken him forever to get used to the giant bed before he could fall asleep last night. He wasn't sure how many hours he'd gotten, but it wasn't the amount he wanted. He pushed himself up and walked over to the closet, which was filled with a pathetic amount of clothing for such a large space. He grabbed the most appealing t-shirt and pants combo (a light grey shirt with faded blue jeans – probably not in style, but comfortable nonetheless).

He walked into the hallway and immediately smelled breakfast cooking downstairs. It was nice, and he was surprised his aunt was up already (she said she would sleep until eight, and that Roxas would probably have to wake her up). He glanced at her bedroom door and noted that it was still closed, a sign that she was inside. Was he smelling things then? He couldn't possibly be _that_ hungry. He'd eaten plenty last night and he was never starving when he woke up (though literally speaking he was never _starving_ ever).

He walked down the stairs cautiously, keeping his eye on where the kitchen would be once he'd descended enough. At first he could see nothing but the stove and a pair of arms using the frying pans. He froze and knelt down, yelling as the body attached the arms came into view despite the fact that the red-head was mildly familiar to him. He wasn't sure _why_ he yelled, he just hadn't been expecting Axel to be in the kitchen at seven thirty in the morning. Axel, apparently, hadn't been expecting him either because he yelled right back and dropped a spatula on the floor. After picking it up he turned to the stairs and glared at Roxas.

"What the _hell_ is your problem?" Well, wasn't he sweet in the mornings? Roxas couldn't blame him, but at least _he_ was in the right house.

"_My_ problem? What's _your_ problem? What're you doing in our kitchen?" Roxas could see the realization on Axel's face, the glare quickly turning to surprise, and then a guilty grin.

"Merry asked me to cook breakfast. I have an easier time getting up than she does and I'm a good alarm clock." Roxas wanted to yell at Axel for using the nickname he'd given his aunt. It had driven him crazy the night before and his opinion clearly hadn't changed in the last eight hours. However, his personality, no matter how grumpy in the morning, didn't allow for that. He wasn't much of a loud person (except for the previous yell) and he hated confrontations even more. Probably because of his father and his drinking problems, but that was neither here nor there.

"Well… Okay." That wasn't lame or anything.

Apparently Axel thought so too, as he gave him a strange looked before throwing the dirty spatula in the sink and reaching into the container beside the stove for another one. Roxas walked the rest of the way down stairs and sat at the island, waiting for Axel to finish cooking. He was awful at making friends, and had very few at school as it was. Now that he was, most likely, moving he wasn't sure how the whole "friend"s thing was going to go. He was going to be a junior in high school and therefore would only be with them for two years, but he couldn't just spend the rest of high school alone because he was afraid of losing them later on.

"Scrambled or over easy?" Roxas jumped when Axel addressed him again. He must've looked confused because the red-head then added, "your eggs."

"Uh, scrambled, I guess." He was a cereal sort of person, or toast if he was sick of the boxes in the house. They never made scrambled eggs and the only time eggs were even kept in the house was when Roxas had to bring something in for a party such as cupcakes or brownies. That hadn't happened since elementary school, however, and now they were an egg-free house hold (which probably made animal activists happy). It had been a while since he'd had any of the food items that Axel was making; bacon, pancakes, and home fries. The last time had been when his aunt had taken him and his dad out to breakfast and Albert, being the person he was, already had a nice buzz going and couldn't stop complaining about the food. Roxas was pretty sure his aunt never went back to that restaurant again.

"You wanna go wake Merry up? Everything's almost done." Roxas nodded and slipped out of his chair. Why did Axel get up so early for his aunt? It was kind of odd for neighbors. Half way up the stairs he stopped and all but felt the color drain out of his face. Axel didn't have a _crush_ on his aunt, did he? He was eighteen, sure, but he was still in high school! And his aunt was just so much older. But that was the only thing he could think of. _Oh God, this guy wants to bang my aunt. I… I just can't look at him now._ "Hey, what're you doing? She isn't sleeping on the stairs."

He took the rest of the steps two at a time, his face a bright red now. It was none of his business if Axel crushed on his aunt but it didn't stop him from being a little freaked out about it. He stopped at his aunt's bedroom door to collect himself, before knocking. He stood there for a couple of minutes before knocking again. He thought he heard Axel saying something downstairs, and he couldn't help but think, _I'm not taking advice from the guy who probably kisses her until she wakes up_. He shivered and knocked louder. This time he could make out Axel saying something about just walking in. Roxas shook his head, despite the fact that he knew the redhead couldn't see him. His aunt was a _girl_. It wasn't right to just waltz right into her room. He only got through one knock when he heard Axel start ascending the stairs.

"Goddammit," the older teen grumbled, pushing Roxas to the side. The blonde stood there, his face flushed all over again, and watched as Axel walked right into his aunt's room. Everything in his head screamed 'wrong!' and instead of sticking around longer to see what was going to unfold, he ran back down the stairs. Well, his social skills were obviously peaking today. "I told him to walk right in and shake you, but he didn't listen."

"That's funny," he heard his aunt yawn and watched as she came down the stairs, Axel following right behind her. "Well, he is such a polite boy. Impeccable manners, you know? He probably didn't feel right. Isn't that right, Roxas?"

He instantly felt better when his aunt smiled at him. He nodded and played with the material of his shirt, scrunching and unscrunching it with every step the other two took towards him. They were walking in synch and it only made Roxas feel more solidified in his realization. He decided that at some point in time he was going to have to accept the fact that someone his age was trying to do the impossible and date his aunt. Seeing as there was no way his aunt would date an eighteen year old, he tried not to worry about it too much as Axel served him a plate of food and then sat in the chair to his right. Merry sat in the only remaining seat, right next to Axel and sighed contentedly as she sipped at her coffee.

"Thank you so much, Axel," she said, every trace of sleep gone from her voice. "I really appreciate you getting up and coming alon—" She stopped as Roxas started choking on his piece of bacon. Why was he going _with_ them? He'd already cooked breakfast, he'd done his job, now he could go. He didn't have to hang around all day and make Roxas feel absolutely awkward. He wouldn't be comfortable at all with the redhead around, which would make shopping difficult, which would in turn make Roxas feel guilty for wasting his aunt's time.

"You alright there, Roxy?" the redhead asked, grinning and obviously thinking he was cute. Roxas gripped an item of silverware in his hand (he couldn't see it, but assumed it was the handle of a knife). His _mother_ had called him Roxy, but no one else. The only reason he really remembered that was because his dad had a habit of reminding him. Roxas never thought it would bother him, and he didn't see why it should – it wasn't like he remembered her. He could see his aunt tensing out of the corner of his eye and laughed a little inside his head. _She knew I wouldn't like it… Well, it's not like I'm mad __**because**__ he said it. It's just a stupid nickname is all_.

"Fine, just fine." He took a sip of his orange juice and continued eating. Axel shrugged and went back to his conversation with Merry. She relaxed shortly after and they finished the meal without any more bumps, aside from Roxas' head going, _He's so crushing on her. He wants her in bed. __**God**__ that is __**sick**__._

Roxas tried to help with dishes, but both Axel and his aunt shooed him out of the kitchen and proceeded to do them _together_. Roxas frowned and sat at the island, waiting for them to finish. He didn't want to seem selfish, but Axel got his aunt every day of the year if he wanted her. The blonde just wanted this summer and then Axel could have her all to himself as long as he wanted. Hell, if it really struck him, he could move into the house. He just had to wait two months for Roxas to actually enjoy his vacation. Just then the phone rang, startling Roxas out of his 'hate the world' train of thought. His aunt mumbled something about 'who's called this early in the morning?' and walked into the living room to get the phone.

"So how come you've never come here before?" Roxas turned to look at Axel. He had half a mind to tell the redhead that it was none of his business and to just _jump off a cliff and die_, but refrained and instead, responded with the correct answer. Or as close to the correct answer as he was willing to give.

"My dad's… protective. He doesn't like to be without me for long periods of time. However, he's on an extended business trip with his boss this summer, trying to get a promotion and he didn't want to leave me home alone. He sent me to the only other person he trusted to take care of me." Roxas thought that sounded close enough to the actual situation without saying anything horrible about his father. He didn't want people's first impression to be that he was an asshole that didn't care about his son's happiness, no matter how true it might be. Roxas knew that, in his own weird way, Albert loved his son just as his son, in some roundabout way, loved him.

"What about your mom?" Roxas froze, unsure of how to answer that question. He usually said she was dead, so people wouldn't give him that "you poor baby" look, but this was different. Axel lived around his aunt and if he said anything to her she might correct him. And then there would be this huge drama about why he would say something like that. Luckily he was saved from answering, by his aunt calling for him.

"Your father's on the phone." When Roxas took the phone, he noted that his aunt looked (and sounded) somewhat irritated. He smiled at her and she smiled back, ruffling his hair a little before heading back to the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"_Roxas?_"

"Yeah."

"_How're you doing at your aunt's?_" Roxas couldn't help but notice a lack of a slur to his father's words, something that usually only happened around Christmas time. It was nice though; he was sticking to the rules.

"Fine, we were about to head out to go shopping. For clothes and stuff." He heard his dad talk briefly to someone else before diverting his attention back to his son.

"_Didn't you bring clothes with you? I don't want you spending all her money_._ We aren't a charity case_."

"She told me not to bring a lot. She wants to do it, dad, you know—"

"_Don't let her buy that expensive shit._" He clearly wasn't near any of his coworkers any more. He didn't swear in front of them. "_It looks stupid on you and I'm not gonna keep up with it just 'cause I got a better job_."

"So you got it?"

"_Not for sure yet, it's only the first day. Keep your buying to a minimum. You won't be able to fit it in the house if I __**don't**__ get this job. And I don't want it crowding up the apartment if I do._"

"Yeah, sure. I understand."

"_I'll call again tomorrow night. You answer the phone if you can. I think I pissed off your aunt_." Well, gee, that didn't take long.

"Okay."

No goodbye, his father just clicked the other line. He said it, though, for good measure before hanging up the phone and walking back to his aunt and Axel. She clearly wasn't impressed with something and Axel was standing beside her awkward. Roxas half-heartedly thought _ha! You aren't going to get into her pants that way_, but couldn't bring himself to be truly happy about it. His dad had probably said the same thing to her and she didn't like being told what she could and couldn't do, especially not by her no-good alcoholic brother. Roxas hugged her briefly, glanced at Axel who was heading for the door (and apparently not good with these sorts of situations), before letting her go.

"Alright. Out the door. We're going to do exactly what your father said not to. I'm going to go _so_ overboard with this shopping thing, you won't know what to do with everything and the clothes will be so expensive that he'd have to use five paychecks just to pay for one outfit." Roxas raised an eyebrow, sure that she needed her money for something other than his clothes. She sighed and then added, "Okay, well, we'll buy what you like and then see how many paychecks it would take."

He grinned, and nodded, following his aunt out the door and to the car. Axel was already spread out in the back seat, and Roxas had to thank him for that. At least he could talk to her on the way to the mall. And then a question from earlier struck Roxas and he was too curious not to ask, "Aunt Merry, why are we bringing Axel along?"

"Hm? Oh, well, he needed to go for some things, but his parents won't bring him and he offered to show you around while I went to my hair appointment. I completely forgot about it until last night at dinner, when I saw Reno's hair, which is shorter than it has been in a while. Why? Do you not like him?"

Roxas quickly shook his head and stopped outside the passenger door, waiting for his aunt to reach hers. "I was just wondering." She nodded at him and they got into the car. The second they shut their doors, Axel leaned forward so his face was in between them and stayed like that the entire ride. He didn't talk as much as Roxas expected him too, which was nice. Instead, he let Roxas ask his aunt questions about the area, and chipped in when he felt it was necessary. Roxas didn't feel the need to choke him for being weird and in love with his aunt. He was slowly starting to accept the fact that a younger boy was so attracted to his aunt. He hadn't actually asked Axel if this was the case, and probably wouldn't even while they were alone in the mall. Which seemed like a ridiculous idea, because what if he was wrong and this entire time he was getting all worked up for nothing? He pushed it aside and laid his head on the window. Just as he closed his eyes and started drifting back to sleep, they pulled into the mall and parked. Axel shook his shoulder to wake him up and Roxas didn't complain.

"Okay, well, my appointment's at nine and it's currently 8:45, so I'm gonna go straight there. Where should I meet you when I'm done?" She looked to Roxas and he opened his mouth to answer, and then realized he didn't know a single store in the mall.

"Well, I need to get some CDs, so you could meet us there. I could help Roxas pick out a stereo," Axel offered.

"But I already have a stereo…" Roxas countered and both Axel and his aunt rolled his eyes at him.

"Did you _not_ hear her earlier? She wants to spend a shit ton of money on you. You may already _have_ a stereo, but she wants to get you a better one. And CDs that you actually like. And—"

"But that's spending money unnecessarily."

"Roxas, you need to make the room at my house your own space. It's a blank slate aside from everything that I _thought_ would go well in it. Now is your chance to add your own flare to it. Grab posters, anything. I have a credit card and a really good paying job. Not to mention a lot of money in the bank that I don't get to spend because it's only me in that house." His aunt patted him on the head and he had to resist the urge to swat her hand away. He hated it when people did that. Ruffling was one thing, but he wasn't a _dog_ that needed to be pet.

For the third or fourth time Roxas wanted to ask her why she'd moved into such a big house all by herself. He didn't get the chance, however, as Axel grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him towards the entrance to the mall. "Well, we're going to let her go get her hair cut and relax while we go find stuff to splurge on."

"She's paying for _your_ stuff too?" Roxas was appalled. They weren't dating! No matter how much Axel wanted them to be.

"Uh, no. I just want to splurge with my own cash. Move it." And Roxas did.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"That's ridiculous for a stereo that small!" Roxas went to walk by it, but Axel grabbed his arm. The redhead turned down the volume on the stereo before pressing play, waiting as the CD inside loaded. Once it did, he stood there patiently and watched as the look on Roxas' face went from one of annoyance to one of wonder. "How… The sound is _amazing_. And it's barely _on_."

"Yeah. You can throw _amazing_ parties with this thing. Won't even need extra speakers, though they help." Axel looked thrilled with the piece of machinery while Roxas felt himself going straight back to square one. He didn't do parties and he certainly didn't need a stereo that attracted them. Before he could protest, though, Axel had grabbed its box off the shelf and pushed Roxas forward. "Onto CDs. I noticed your MP3 player on the counter downstairs, so I'm assuming you didn't bring any. You should seriously consider transferring your music onto Merry's PC and burning CDs. Y'know, that way you get optimum usage out of this thing before your dad makes you take it back. If that happens."

Roxas began skimming through the CD isles while Axel brought the stereo up to the desk. His head was starting to spin from all the bands that were listed. He got music from his closest friends, never actually searching for something that he might be interested in. He hadn't bought an actual CD in years and wasn't sure if there was one that he would be completely interested in. Just as he was drowning in the decision making of purchasing a CD, he ran into someone – a very loud someone. He stumbled backwards, as did they. He looked up to see a brunet about the same height as himself, with hair spikier than his own (wow, he never thought he'd see the day when _that_ happened). He had blue eyes, just like Roxas' own, and looked so familiar Roxas could almost _taste_ it, but he came up blank. Not to mention, Twilight Town was a huge place. He could've just seen him on the street somewhere. Roxas went to apologize, but someone else cut him off.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, ya?" He turned to look at the person on the brunet's left. He had red hair, but it wasn't the same as Axel's fire engine spikes. No, his was a more natural-looking orange. Apparently redheads just had bad attitudes when confronted (granted, Roxas hadn't actually run into _him_).

"Chill, Wakka, it was an accident, right?" the brunet smiled at him and Roxas couldn't help but smile. Sort of. It was kind of lopsided and awkward, but he made a valiant effort.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just kinda spacing and I didn't see you… Sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. The name's Sora, and this is my friend Wakka." Sora held out his hand and nodded in Wakka's direction, but when he said the word 'friend' he seemed as though he felt it wasn't the appropriate one at the moment. Roxas tried to give his own greeting, but it was stuck in his throat. _So…ra? _He wanted to believe it could be true, that on vacation away from his father he could randomly bump into his twin. They _did_ look a lot alike after all. It couldn't just be coincidence. He hoped it wasn't. He extended his own hand and grasped Sora's, shaking with a little too much force.

"I…ehm… Roxas. My name's Roxas." He looked for any recognition in the other boy's face, but it just remained that same friendly smile (which was good, but not what he was looking for). He dropped his hand to his side again, rather suddenly, and the brunet looked confused before smiling again.

"It's nice to meet you Roxas! I've never seen you in here before." Roxas raised an eyebrow. Did he expect to meet everyone in Twilight Town just by going to one music store? Before he could ask, Axel walked up behind him and opened his big, stupid mouth. "Yo, shorty. 'Sup?"

"Who're you calling shorty?" Roxas' eyes widened in surprise when he realized he and Sora had spoken in unison. Sora, however, thought it was hilarious and couldn't stop laughing. Axel, apparently, also found it amusing because he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Roxas frowned – mostly at Axel – as he'd actually wanted an answer to that question. And now there were really two people contending for the spot of 'shorty', neither of whom wanted it.

"Well, Roxy," Roxas inwardly cringed, and outwardly glared at Axel, "I _was_ talking to Sora, but you can be shorty, too, if you want."

"No thanks."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Why am I shorty? I don't want to be shorty either!"

"It's rude, ya?"

"Oh, shove it, Wakka. You're just mad 'cause my hair's better than yours."

"…What does his hair have to do with anything?"

"Well, Roxy—"

"Stop calling me that!"

"But it's cute!"

"It is a cute nickname. Roxy, Roxy, Roxy."

"I like my hair way more than yours, Axel!"

"What is going on here?" All four of them turned to see Merry standing at the end of the isle. Her hands were on her hips and she looked even more angry than when she'd entered the hair dresser's. Roxas immediately walked over to her and tried to say something, but immediately shut his mouth when she raised her hand. "Axel, what have I told you about harassing Wakka? And if Roxas asks you not to call him something, don't. That goes for you too, Sora."

Sora looked like a kicked puppy when she addressed him, but he nodded nonetheless. Roxas mentally checked him off of his list of potential twins. His aunt obviously knew him, and would've recognized him immediately if that were they case. And then she would've introduced them, or something like that. It didn't stop him from wishing Sora _was_ his twin. In a weird "I just met him" sort of way. Axel was quiet, which surprised Roxas. He expected the redhead to make up some sort of excuse for his antics. Roxas noticed, actually, that no one was talking. They were all complying wordlessly. Roxas wanted to ask what was the matter, as everyone else seemed to know, and knew to keep quiet. Well, he got the whole concept of keeping quiet, what he didn't understand was _why_ they were supposed to stay that way.

"I could always light him on fire, you know." Roxas' eyes widened as he thought Axel was talking about Wakka. That couldn't possibly be the case, though, because his aunt was smiling, as if this one sentence made everything disappear. She walked over to Axel and patted his shoulder, then ruffled Sora's hair. She didn't touch Wakka, which made Roxas feel a little better because at least he wasn't the _only _one being left out.

"No, it's fine. If he keeps it up I'll just get a restraining order. Or something." Sora frowned.

"That's what you've said the last three times he's bothered you. When are you actually going to _do_ it."

Roxas was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He had no idea what was going on, but he did know that people who were completely strangers to him, knew his aunt, his flesh and blood, more than he did and that bothered him. It wasn't his fault he didn't know her all that well, and he didn't even realize that he didn't know her until they started talking to her about… a stalker, he supposed. He could blame his father, he supposed, because he was the one that wanted him sheltered from the rest of the world. He wasn't allowed to go on field trips, he wasn't allowed to visit relatives, he wasn't even sure if he was going to be able to go to _college_ after high school. If he got a full scholarship, there was no doubt, but what if he didn't? The point was, he didn't know his aunt because he couldn't get out and see her and it bothered him more than his father's drinking ever had. He stood there, listening to everything they were saying, taking it in, trying to learn something about her. He gave up after a while, though, and instead began browsing through the music again. He left the isle where everyone else was standing and went to the next one over. He didn't even really look at the covers before flipping to the next one. If it looked like it might be mildly entertaining in the short once-over he gave it, then he picked it up. Otherwise it stayed on the shelf. He did this through two more isles before Axel caught up to him.

"What'd you grab?" Roxas jumped, clutching the CDs to his chest until his breathing returned to normal. He looked down and noticed that he only had three CDs in his hands, none of which looked like anything he'd actually listen to. He sighed and placed them down on top of the other CDs.

"Nothing. This CD thing was a bad idea." He sighed and moved to walk out of the isle, but Axel stopped him by grabbing his shoulders and turning him around. He stopped him in front of a set of head phones and proceeded to put them on his head.

"Okay, I'm going to play something, and I want you to either nod or shake your head, you got it?" Roxas nodded, but was ready to groan in frustration. This shopping thing was awful. Books were better, as he actually _liked_ books. He liked reading. He liked music too, but it was harder for him to shop for. All of a sudden the music started and he had to shake his head furiously as a rap song came on. He only liked certain ones and this one… Well, it made him want to blush the second it came on. The next one he almost nodded to, but ultimately shook his head as whoever was singing was getting on his nerves .They went only like this for a while, Roxas would've guessed an entire day if he didn't know better. Every time he nodded, Axel would go off in one direction before coming back to his side and continuing. Roxas was about to take the head phones off when Axel held up a hand. _There's still more songs on this damn thing_, he thought bitterly. Then the song came on and at first he wasn't impressed, but once the lyrics started he was completely in love with the song. He looked up at Axel to nod, but the redhead had a pair of headphones on himself, his eyes were closed, and he was singing along to the song.

_You would not believe your eyes_

_If ten million fireflies_

_Lit up the world as I fell asleep_

'_Cause they fill the open air_

_And leave teardrops everywhere_

_You think me rude, but I would just stand and stare_

_I'd like to make myself believe_

_That planet earth turns slowly_

_It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep_

'_Cause everything is never as it seems_

Roxas had to hold in a groan when the music stopped. He hated the fact that he couldn't hear the entirety of this song. The lyrics weren't over powering, but something about them mixed with the music made him fall instantly in love with the song. Axel was smirking as he handed over half the pile of CDs. Roxas went to ask about the song he just heard, but Axel just held up a CD case and began walking towards the counter. Roxas followed, completely overtaken by the song. And Axel, in a way. He'd been so into the lyrics that the blonde wasn't sure _anything_ could've gotten his attention. It had been a nice look for him, a look of pure bliss. He shook his head when he realized he was staring. _Heh, just like the song_, he thought to himself. He put the CDs on the counter, looking around for his aunt.

"Okay, just sign here," Roxas turned and looked at Axel, already signing a credit card slip.

"What're you—" Axel held up a hand briefly before finishing his signature.

"I'll take care of this one. You don't have awful taste in music and I'll probably borrow most of it anyway. Merry can handle the books and the clothes. Y'know, the nerdy stuff."

Well, there went their moment of bonding. Roxas crossed his arms until all the CDs were bagged, at which point he grabbed them, leaving the stereo for Axel to grab. He didn't say thank you to the redhead, just walked to the door. _Nerdy_. That's what he was, huh? Well, if he was a nerd then Axel was a… A sap! That's what he was. He was so in love with that last song and it was all mushy. So Axel was a sap. But he had liked it a lot too, so that made him a sap. Goddammit. Axel still had one up on him. The taller teen caught up easily, being at least one full head taller than him. Roxas was trying to keep the polite part of him from ruining his "I'm angry with Axel" streak, but he was starting to lose out. After all, there were a _shit ton_ of CDs in these bags and Axel (or rather his parents) were paying for them. But he had to hold out. Just a little… bit… longer.

"Thanks," he muttered under his breath.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. You're welcome." Roxas looked at him out of the corner of his eye and the redhead seemed to have this triumphant smile on his face. If Roxas wasn't so busy feeling awful about the CDs, he would've punched him in the face.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the day was spent with just him, his aunt, and Axel. Sora and Wakka had disappeared after the incident in the music store. When he asked Axel how he knew them, he explained that they lived on the same street, and Roxas would probably see them again if he took a walk. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave the house, but he nodded anyway and started a conversation with his aunt. Axel seemed distracted the rest of the day and hardly spoke to them at all, though he did talk to everyone else he ran into. A couple of times Merry had gotten impatient and pushed Roxas on to the next store, saying that Axel would find them later. And he always did, though Roxas wasn't sure how. The mall was huge. They constantly took trips to the car to drop things off so they wouldn't have to carry them. At the end of the day he had enough clothes for each day of the week for two weeks, enough books to fill at least two shelves (his aunt wanted him to get more, but he couldn't), and enough CDs to last him until December. He gave Axel the front seat, wanting to stretch out in the back. His feet were killing him, as were his arms, and he was pretty sure he was going to collapse in his bed once he got back to his aunt's.

"What time is it?" he asked, leaning on Axel's seat. The redhead shifted so he was leaning against the passenger window before responding.

"Time for you to get a watch. Why didn't you think of that while we were still in the mall? Now we're going to have to go back." Roxas groaned, which made Axel laugh for a couple of seconds before he quieted down again. Roxas noticed his aunt give the older teen a funny look before putting the car in reverse and pulling out.

The ride home was quiet, which Roxas appreciated. The only noise was the radio, which was so low that it seemed to just hum, rather than play music. Merry glanced at Axel every once in a while, and then back at Roxas who just closed his eyes and tried to take a bit of a cat nap. He knew he was going to be awake for hours if he did, but he was so exhausted and they hadn't eaten yet. His aunt had invited Axel over for dinner, but the redhead had refused, saying something about a time he'd given his parents to be home. Now, Roxas hadn't know Axel for very long, but he could already tell he was the type to disobey any sort of restriction that his parents gave him. Neither Prynne pressed the matter, however. Roxas assumed Axel was just tired of him (he had been rather mopey most of the morning, and had put up a fight while clothes shopping).

Axel helped them unload everything out of the car, even going so far as to help Roxas bring his things upstairs to his room. Roxas was thankful for this, as there were a lot of bags to go there and he was just one small teenager. However, with every trip up the stairs, Axel was looking more and more uncomfortable. He looked as though there was something he wanted to say, but couldn't or didn't know how. Once the last of the bags were in his room, he turned to the redhead.

"Are you okay? You look kind of—"

"Do you want to hang out with me and a couple of my friends tonight?" Roxas' mouth was stuck in the shape of the last word he was going to say. Axel wanted him to hang out with his friends? Really? Roxas was sure he'd had enough of the blonde throughout the day. He could be pretty annoying around people he knew (a.k.a. his aunt). Axel didn't look any less comfortable now that he'd asked. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll just—"

"No! I'd love to. I mean, not _love to_, but… It'd be nice to meet other people." Something flashed across Axel's face when he accepted. Roxas wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't seem like joy.

"Cool. I'll, uh, pick you up later. I'll let you rest for a bit now."

"Yeah, thanks. See you then." And with that, Axel left.

**A/N**: Okay, so I only half know where I want this story to go. I've got ideas for the next chapter and why Axel's acting funny, but otherwise I'm lost! If you have ideas or want specific characters to show up, just let me know! 333 Reviews are nice, but I understand if you don't want to 'cause it took me so long to post this. Makes me feel good that it's done, though!

Also, Fireflies by Owl City is not mine. I just borrowed their lyrics for the purpose of this fic. I am not profiting from it whatsoever. Well, maybe my ego is, but nothing else, I promise!


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